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Social and Mental Health Needs Assessment of Katrina Evacuees
Disaster Management & Response (2006)
  • Ann L. Coker, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Jeanne S. Hanks, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Katherine S. Eggleston, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Jan Risser, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • P. Grace Tee, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Karen J. Chronister, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Catherine L. Troisi
  • Raouf Arafat
  • Luisa Franzini, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Abstract
Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm on August 29, 2005. Many residents were evacuated to neighboring cities owing to massive destruction. Working with the City of Houston Health Department, researchers conducted a medical and psychological needs assessment of 124 Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston shelters from September 4–12, 2005. Among those willing to talk about their experiences, 41% were afraid they would die, 16% saw someone close to them injured or die, 17% saw violence, and 6% directly experienced physical violence. When using a version of the Impact of Stress Experiences scale, the majority of evacuees scored as experiencing moderate (38.6%) to severe (23.9%) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. These data suggest that in addition to challenges in finding loved ones, housing, and jobs, many Katrina survivors have experienced significant psychological trauma that may lead to future PTSD.
Keywords
  • Hurricane Katrina,
  • disasters,
  • mental health,
  • posttraumatic stress
Publication Date
July, 2006
Citation Information
Ann L. Coker, Jeanne S. Hanks, Katherine S. Eggleston, Jan Risser, et al.. "Social and Mental Health Needs Assessment of Katrina Evacuees" Disaster Management & Response Vol. 4 Iss. 3 (2006)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/anncoker/14/